ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION #6 - If you could reverse any X-Files character's death, who would it be & why?

For our next roundtable chat based on a key X-Files question...

If you could reverse any X-Files character's death, who would it be & why?

TONY: "I think I'd go for Krycek. Much as part of me loved his death, I also love Rat Boy hanging around causing trouble and popping up every now and then. It would have been great seeing him in Season 10!"

ANDREW: "Well, I think the way The Lone Gunmen were killed off was just lazy... so I'd say them."

BAZ: "I would have loved Krycek in season 10 but he also needed to go when he did. The show didn't know what to do with him at that point. I also second the Lone Gunmen. My choice would be Mr. X. As dramatic as his death was, there were never a decent replacement for him. The revelation that he worked for the Cigarette Smoking Man shortly before could have added an interesting dynamic to future stories."

CARL: "Tough question. I'll say Samantha Mulder. I wasn't a fan when it first aired, but I've actually grown to like Closure a bit more over the years. However, I'm still not entirely convinced it was a fitting conclusion to Mulder's quest to find his sister. I'll cheat and pick another death to reverse, this time from the standalones. I really liked Tooms, and I wouldn't have been at all upset if he'd lived to make a third appearance at some point."

BAZ: "I completely agree about Samantha. A terrible ending to her character and the mystery of her abduction."

SAM: "Margaret Scully- too fast and not explored enough in my opinion... I get that that was probably on purpose, but I would have liked a bit more story around it."

TONY: "Samantha is an interesting one. Did she even die? In the traditional sense? Personally I think the walk-ins idea was a fascinating and different way to resolve an almost unresolvable plot point, so I don't know if I'd save her. I wouldn't want to lose the ending of 'Closure'. Lone Gunmen though? Hell yes. What the frak were they smoking when they thought taking them out was a good idea?"

BAZ: "Another choice from me. Admittedly he probably would have died with the rest of the shadowy consortium a few months later in season six's One Son, but I hated that the Well-Manicured Man died in the movie and for no real reason other than he betrayed his group's secrets to Mulder. John Neville's ability to deliver the phrase 'dear God' was brilliant and he was by far my favourite of the Cigarette Smoking Man's group."

CARL: "Do we think that The Lone Gunmen shouldn't have died under any circumstances or do we think that Jump the Shark just wasn't a fitting end?"

BAZ:  "I don't know. I'm going to watch it this week so I'll let you know. But no, there was no reason for them to die."

TONY: "While I really like the way WMM dies, I agree Baz. Such a shame to see the great John Neville go. And yeah Carl, I don't think they needed to die at all. You could have kept them around, always bums, always fringe elements, fated to die together as old men. Fine. A heroes death like that, great as they were, didn't suit them."

CARL: "I think I agree, no need to kill them as things stood in Season 9."

SARAH: "I'm totally with you all on The Lone Gunmen. Taking them out was completely unnecessary. As far as Samantha goes, I didn't care for the explanation the first time around, but watching the episode again with more perspective, I found it appropriate and very poignant. I think her end was a fitting resolution. So many other things on the show were shrouded in mystery without solid answers, driving Mulder to further his endless quest, but this one mystery is something he was finally able to believe and find comfort in. Another person I wish had survived is Agent Pendrell. I always imagined an alternate universe in which he and Scully got married and filled Grandma Scully's house with lots of little red-headed uber babies at Christmas. Uncle Mulder would stop in to bring inappropriately noisy and annoying gifts, and talk about the good 'ole days with Scully."

BAZ: "Absolutely! Poor Pendrell! Okay, I just watched 'Jump The Shark' and it really is a rubbish ending for The Lone Gunmen. They might have gone out saving a hotel full of people from a deadly contagion, but it was an episode that felt totally disconnected from the rest of the series. No Skinner or Scully until the end. No Mulder, their greatest ally. Just three heroes stuck in a room, unable to escape. There was no sense in killing them."

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know your choices in the comments below or on social media!